Lay off: the experience of women and men in Iceland's financial sector

To analyze gender differences in levels of psychological distress, financial strain, lay off experiences and job search activity among unemployed and re-employed individuals who were laid-off due to the collapse of the financial sector in Iceland in 2008.

The study is based on questionnaires distributed to 759 former financial sector employees; 426 responses were received giving a 62.6% response rate.

The groups of unemployed and re-employed woman and men are compared using separate multivariate binary models to control for mediating factors.

The analysis reveals gender differences in demographic factors and jobs held prior to lay-off. More women than men were psychologically or finically distressed and claimed being shocked by the lay-off. A higher proportion of men than women were re-employed at the time of this study. The main difference between those re-employed and unemployed was lower financial strain among those re-employed for both men and women in this sample.

The study does not support the traditional view of men having more difficulties in the lay-off process than women. This calls for a rethinking regarding gender in lay-off and unemployment. A gender-based analysis is needed when considering the ramifications of losing a job and job search activity in the lay-off process.